Bike-powered microphones for this band that was playing at the Alemany Farmers Market. Only in SF!

This weekend I went with Ross to Aquatic Park so he could go swimming in the bay with his friend Pablo. Swimming in the bay, not for the faint of heart. But there were an astounding number of people doing it! I am always dead impressed when Ross and friends suit up and jump in.

I am constantly reminded of, and delighted by, the great many picturesque and unique things and places one can find in San Francisco and today was no different. We so often stay in our own little microcosms and neighborhoods, and forget to get up and out into the world and enjoy the variety of wonders our fair city holds!

For my birthday last year, I asked my friends and family to get tickets for a Demolition Derby in Dixon, CA, which is a small town about 75 miles east of San Francisco.

I will admit that after making this plan I realized that I actually didn’t even know what a Demolition Derby was- I mean, I guess I could have figured it out if I thought about, but I didn’t. I think that’s because I couldn’t have imagined how utterly fun and awesome it is to watch cars crash into each other. So now I know: more or less, a bunch of cars drive around in dirt crashing into each other, until only 1 car is able to move. Pretty straightforward.

Some things we learned:
1. You’re not allowed to hit the driver’s side door on purpose. Anywhere else is OK.
2. Drivers wear helmets and they only carry a small amount of gasoline to prevent fires.
3. If you’re driving in dirt, you don’t actually need tires or wheels- you can do pretty well even when you’re down to the axle.
4. Ideal demographic for DD is Y chromosome, age 3-10. Not to say the adults and females didn’t enjoy it, since everyone did LOVE it. But nothing matched the unbridled, nay, unhinged, enthusiasm of the little boys who were in our group.
5. If someone invites YOU to this type of event, you should definitely try to make it, because it’s pretty much insanely fun and awesome and different.

(These photos are about half mine, and half from my friend Carolyn Laub, who was kind enough to share.)

The DD was a special attraction of the Dixon May Fair. Previous night’s entertainment: ZZ Top.

The cars and trucks line up on the dirt to show themselves off before the crashtastic action starts.

The dollar bill car was an early favorite, until he was decommissioned by a busted radiator.

Try as he might, 68’s driver can’t resuscitate this victim.

Dead cars pile up on the berm while the remaining vehicles continue to smash around.

At the end, since only 1 car is still able to drive, heavy machinery carts the remaining carcasses off the dirt in preparation for the next round.

Mmm… delicious dancing corn dogs.

The pickup truck round about to begin. The announcer is so excited and keeps saying “in my 30 years of doing this, I have NEVER seen a pickup derby, so folks, this is really something special!” So special!

A truck smokes after a front hit and his radiator blows.

When a winner is declared, the drivers take off their helmets and climb out of their trashed trucks.

After 2 rounds, this incredibly tough car finally died- but not before driving around on 1 perpendicular tire, 1 diagonal tire, and 1 bare axle.

Exhaust combined with fire extinguisher blowback flooded the open-air arena with choking smoke.

The event came to an abrupt and unceremonius end when the smoke became so overwhelming and obscuring that patrons ran from the arena coughing and covering their faces.

It occurred to me that I always take lots of photos of food and shops and streets and signs when I travel to faraway lands, but I rarely do so in my own town. San Francisco, after all, is a major tourist destination, and there are LOTS of interesting things to photo right here in my own backyard. The area around Bryant and 24th Streets, for example, is a slowly and funkily gentrifying old-school Mexican neighborhood that’s colorful in more ways than one, and it’s a prime spot for a mini photo journal.

The one, the only, the original- the garish Roosevelt Tamale Parlor sign is a long-standing beacon of this ‘hood. Cute and quaint, with great… wait for it… tamales.
Roosevelt Tamale Parlor: 2817 24th St. between Bryant and York.

Is there possibly a better name for anything than “Discolandia?” Hmm. I think NO. Love the color scheme and stark, slightly askew, sans-serif all caps action as well. No idea what it’s like inside, as woefully I’ve never actually BEEN inside.
Discolandia: 2964 24th St. between Florida and Alabama.

I have always loved the Taqueria Vallarta sign, for many reasons. For one thing, I find it so mysterious that they didn’t make one more segment on the sign so the bottom one didn’t have to share 2 letters. Also, the vertical orientation makes it completely unintuitive and tricky to read what it says. And need I mention it’s cool Mexican flag colors? Still, this case of branding gone majorly wrong hasn’t prevented them from sticking around for years and years. Probably because the tacos are good and they’re open for gorging even after the bars close. But that’s just a hunch.
Taqueria Vallarta: 3033 24th St. between Balmy and Treat.

A positive piece of gentrification- some young hipster folks saved and resurrected this decades-old icon. They brought back all the best bits (like glass jars of candy on the counter and thick homemade shakes) and updated the worst bits (like greasy blah diner food) so you can get all the nostalgia PLUS all of the tastiness. The cheddar, scallion, bacon pancakes are my favorite!
St. Francis Fountain: 2801 24th St. between Bryant and York.

This is a closeup of a taco shop sign. It totally creeps me out. Check out how the big pig is happy to be being roasted, while the little pig on the right appears to be roasting and possibly spearing his own child pig in another pot. What kinda sicko painted this thing and how did they think it would inspire me to eat carnitas?
Crazy pig painting: I don’t remember where exactly this sign is, but I think it’s roughly opposite Discolandia.

“Burbujas” (boor-BOO-huss) is inherently a funny word (meaning “bubbles) but I’ve always thought it was made additionally funny by the addition of “Mr.” Not Señor Burbujas, not Mr. Bubbles… Mr. Burbujas. The bra and underwear jauntily painted on the window and the Florida Street murals in the background add to the scene.
Mr. Burbujas: SE corner of 24th and Florida.

Soda-themed skateboard decks in the window of Mission Skateboards, a new gritty-cool skate shop.
Mission Skateboards: 3045 24th St. between Balmy and Treat. (The sign is just a circle with an M on it.)

I don’t know if it’s the trash cans, the tagging, the metal cage, the stark stenciled letters, or what… but I think “Fountain of Life Church” is stretching it just a tad…
Iglesia Fuente de Vida: next to Discolandia

I love the word “Mexica-tessen” and the funky Brady Bunch font on the lit up sign. Somehow the font plus the palm tree always make it seem like it should be in LA. You can get killer tamales, fresh masa and homemade tortillas.
La Palma: 2884 24th St. between Florida and Bryant.

Newcomer Sugarlump is a sweet cafe with a lovely back patio and a sexy 70s fireplace. You might think Tina Fey glasses and shiny Mac laptops are required for entry, but they’ll sell you an organic fair trade cup of coffee even if you’re sans specs or carrying a (gasp!) Dell.
Sugarlump: 2862 24th St. between Bryant and Florida.

I like that you can buy a bra AND send a fax in the same place.
Manuel’s Store: Incongruously right next to Sugarlump.

If you want fancier underpants hit up Candy Kitchen which sells absolutely no candy, just fancy, pretty, pricey lingerie.
Candy Kitchen: 2807 24th St. between Bryant and York.

Every summer I want to make ice cream sandwiches, and since that time is just about here… here they are! These are a great thing to make for a group. They are not that hard to make- in fact, I find that the trickiest part is generally making enough space in the freezer to store them.

I made the cookies from scratch but used store-bought ice cream. A tip: if you buy the type of ice cream that comes in a rectangular cube, the process of making these is a lot easier and less messy. Of course, if you’re a perfectionist you could make your own ice cream then freeze it in a layer in a 9×13 pan that’s been prepped with plastic wrap. And if you’re the more on the quick fix side, then you could use store-bought cookies. I’d recommend a soft and chewy type of cookie.

I’m a purist so I went with chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream, but obviously the sky’s the limit! For 1 batch of cookies I used one block container of ice cream.

If all of this sounds exhausting… I hear you can order It’s Its online now! It’s Its are a fabulous San Francisco tradition, and have been making yummy ice cream sandwiches since 1928 right here in the Bay Area.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• cookies
• ice cream

Method:

• If you make cookies from scratch, use a scoop to make sure they are all roughly the same size. A flatter cookie works better than a puffier cookie.
• Find a circular cookie cutter or glass that’s the same size as the cookies.
• Peel the cardboard off of the ice cream. Cut the ice cream into 3 or 4 equally thick slices (depending on how thick you want the slices to be.)
• Dip the the cookie cutter in hot water and cut circles. Place circles on cookies and top with another cookie. Put sandwiches on tray.
• When you’re done, put the tray in the freezer until serving time.

The stretch of Telegraph Avenue around the 50s in Oakland is home to an eclectic mix of businesses and buildings, and since the area is rapidly gentrifying it’s unclear how long some of these uniquely Oakland, uniquely ramshackle spots will be around. Hence, I felt the area merited a mini photo journal. Enjoy!

The Original Steele’s Skin Diving Supplies has been out of business for quite a while- but what I wouldn’t give to hang that decrepit sign in my house. What’s the skin diver doing anyway- harpooning a whale? The Miami color combo stands out against the mostly gray and brown tones of the ‘hood.

I love the name and font of this laundromat- for all of your jive-talkin’ laundering needs.

This bizarre faux windmill is wedged between 2 houses. What is it? The trash room? A secret clubhouse?

The tiny triangle-shaped Kasper’s Hot Dogs is no longer in business, and the boarded-over building falls a bit more into disrepair with each passing year.

However, just down the street from the defunct Kasper’s (with a ‘k’), Casper’s (with a ‘c’) will still sell you a hot dog, representing with the nostalgic graphics and the 1970s color scheme.

This highly personalized truck is often parked across from Kasper’s.

This sign used to point to a bunch of great stuff, I’m sure, but what?!!? Inquiring minds want to know. At the present time it marks the edge of a parking lot for a Chinese restaurant.

The pink confection of an estate that houses Hooper’s Chocolates has got to be one of the most stylistically and architecturally incongruous things around. It’s set back from the street and looks every bit like your Granny’s house.

The all-caps Hide A Way is a funky diner nestled among the trees.

Gotta love a drive-in liquor store!